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'Then I'll come back up.'

'Why go down in the first place?' he ground out.

'Because, as you only just pointed out, I have a stubborn streak, and I want to.' She swung herself fully onto the ladder, and deftly descended into the blackness below. It seemed important to the King that she did not go down there, but he'd given her no choice with the Cruaxee-touch, so she would give him no choice in this, and see how he liked it.

The thought sounded petulant as it passed through her head, and the part of her that was a responsible, level-headed leader almost made her climb back up. But then her feet touched solid rock … it wasn't so far down.

'Fyia,' said a voice from above. She heard the tapping of Cal's feet searching for the wooden ladder.

'You're coming down?'

'What in the Whore's name do you think?' He was angry, and making no attempt to hide it. 'Stay where you are.'

'There's a sliver of moonlight,' she said. It was some distance away … impossible to tell how far, exactly.

'Fyia, stop!' Cal shouted, his voice so commanding, her feet rooted to the spot. Her breath hitched, and she turned back towards the ladder, where she could make out the barest of shadows nearing the bottom. No one ever spoke to her that way, and it was … invigorating.

'Why?' she said, longing to see the furious expression that was surely on his face.

He fumbled with something to the side of the ladder, and then a torch flared to life. He turned towards her, his face lit by flickering flame, and he was glorious in his fury. His eyebrows had pinched together, forming a crease at the top of his nose, his eyes—dark in the low light—bored into hers, his jaw clenched.

Fyia's lips parted in surprise. She couldn't look away, her eyes drinking him in. He moved menacingly towards her, and her skin rippled with sensation, the hairs on her arms coming to life. When he reached her, he leaned down into her space, stealing her air, close enough that she could see the dark open pupils of his eyes.

'That is why,' he said. He stepped past her, drawing her attention to the drop only two paces away.

'Oh, Goddess,' she murmured, shaking her head. She was unsure if the recent proximity of his burning eyes, or that she'd nearly fallen to her death had affected her more.

They stood on a ledge that jutted out into a cave, a drop on two sides. Fyia surveyed as much of the space as she was able in the insufficient light, but could see little aside from rock walls lined with pipes.

Fyia inched closer to the edge, to where the sliver of moonlight shone into the cave, and looked down. The drop wasn't as big as she'd originally thought, and another ladder connected the ledge to the ground below, to where … no, that couldn't be right. 'Bring the torch over here,' she said to Cal. 'Is that … do you have aqueducts this far north?'

Cal came up behind her and held the torch aloft, his features now resigned. 'Evidently,' he said.

Fyia traced the edges of the waterway with her eyes, from where it appeared through the cave wall, to where it left the circle of torchlight.

'Is your curiosity satisfied?' said Cal.

'No,' said Fyia. 'I'm going down there.'

'Fyia,' he said, grabbing hold of her arm.

This time, she used her training and spun out of his grip. 'Do not try to hold me against my will,' she said slowly, her face a portrait of fury.

'Then stop trespassing.'

'That is hardly what I'm doing … I'm … researching, for when our kingdoms unite. The aqueduct is a promising sign; it means there was probably a trade route between our kingdoms at one time. When we thaw the north, we'll be able to use them for trade once more.'

The King seemed to falter at that. 'Well, now you know,' he said, 'and we can both return to our business.'

'This is my business,' she said, grasping the top of the ladder, 'and it should be yours too.'

'Don't lecture me,' he snapped.

She paused, looking up at him. 'I'm not. I am trying to find ways for us to work together, for the prosperity of both our kingdoms.

'And what are you doing in the face of such an opportunity? Dragging your heels? Why? Because I am foreign? Because I'm a woman? Or maybe because you're too proud to admit when someone else has a good idea.'

Fyia continued her descent, and to her relief, Cal didn't try to stop her. In fact, he followed. He could have walked away and taken the torch, leaving her to fumble about in the dark.